Friday, April 20, 2007

INDEPENDENCE DAY HALL

The "REN & STIMPY SHOW" was a short-lived cartoon. Its founder, John Kricfalusi targeted the humor for teens and young adults. The show enjoyed a great success for two years until the network "stole" the rights from him. Then without Kricfalusi's creative genius, the network produced their own ersatz version. Driven by the it's early reputation the show remained popular but viewers noticed a drop in quality. Then within two years, the show was off the air. One of the bright spots throughout the run was Billy West, the voice of Stimpy.

Billy West molded Stimpy's voice from his impression of Larry Fine from the "THREE STOOGES." Apparently Mr. West is the only person in the world who does a decent Larry...of course, there probably isn't much of a call for Larry Fine impersonators anyway. Therefore on our family visit with Andrew's friend Vinnie last week to Philadelphia, I was surprised to see a huge (and not aesthetically beautiful) wall moral of Larry Fine over Jon's Bar & Grill on South Street. Later when we wanted lunch, somehow Larry lured us back. The back of the menu included Larry's biography and we were surprised that he had actually lived in the building that the restaurant/bar now occupied. Oh, yeah in case you're curious...and PLEASE pardon the pun...the food was "FINE."

From there, we went to the Franklin Institute to see the King Tut Exhibit. They must have extremely long waits at times, because they had snaky railings set-up like at amusement parks. Our time slot was 5:30PM and luckily we walked past the railings directly to a holding area. At first it seemed like we would have a long wait but they allow 60 people in every three minutes. Our wait was about ten minutes.

Before going inside, a museum representative gives a short spiel on patron etiquette as well as some do's and don'ts . That's followed by a two-minute film narrated by Omar Shariff that gives a brief history of what you are about to see.

The exhibit is divided into five rooms. The crowds are small enough that if you wanted to see everything up close, the wait, if any was short. Also each item had a small plaque to read and this information was repeated in big print at the top and all sides of the individual showcases.

On the funny side, in the first room, a woman with a one-year old in her arm was dragging a whining three-year old along.
I was standing next to them when she suddenly bent down, stuck her finger in the tike's face and said, "You're NOT ruining this for me!" When the kid tried to rebut she interrupted, "When I take you to Disneyworld I don't ruin it for you, do I?"
I kept an eye on them and the boy never whined again.

In comparison to when I saw King Tut at the New York Museum of Natural History in 1978, the crowd was controlled much better this time around. I also think there was a lot more to see and the time restrictions in each room were more relaxed.

There were minor flaws in the presentation but I won't mention them because I wouldn't want to discourage any of my readers from attending.

On the way out, photography was permitted in the gift shop. They had tons of crap to buy to help you recall the memories of the trip but you should always remember, one picture is worth a thousand words.

It should be noted that the ticket price also includes the regular museum. If you've never been to the Franklin Institute, its great for all ages. We parked easily at a meter about a block away...so bring plenty of quarters.

After we left, Andrew's friend wanted to see (as he called it) Independence DAY Hall. Being Philadelphia illiterate, I took the loooong way to get there but was able to come through on my promise. More importantly, through my guidance, Vinnie has dropped the word DAY.

NEIL ARMSTRONG - ASTRONAUNT (1930-2012)

MARCEL MARCEAU - MIME, ACTOR (1923-2007)

"FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST, THANK GOD ALL MIGHTY, I'M FREE AT LAST." and "DARKNESS CANNOT DRIVE OUT DARKNESS. ONLY LIGHT CAN DO THAT. HATE CANNOT DRIVE OUT HATE. ONLY LOVE CAN DO THAT." and "I HAVE A DREAM THAT MY FOUR LITTLE CHILDREN WILL ONE DAY LIVE IN A NATION WHERE THEY WILL NOT BE JUDGED BY THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN, BUT BY THE CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTER."

LINDSAY NELSON - SPORTSCASTER - (1919-1995)

"THEY, (THE 1962, NEW YORK METS), PLAYED FOR FUN, BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T PLAY ANY OTHER WAY."

SAM LEVENSON - HUMORIST-JOURNALIST (1911-1980)

IF YOU DIE IN AN ELEVATOR, BE SURE TO PRESS THE "UP" BUTTON.

BUDDHA (SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA) - SPIRITUAL TEACHER (c. 563 BC - 483 BC)

"THOUSANDS OF CANDLES CAN BE LIT FROM A SINGLE CANDLE, AND THE LIFE OF THE CANDLE WILL NOT BE SHORTENED. HAPPINESS NEVER DECREASES BY BEING SHARED." and "YOU CAN SEARCH THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE FOR SOMEONE MORE DESERVING OF YOUR LOVE AND AFFECTION THAN YOU ARE YOURSELF AND THAT PERSON IS NOT TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE. YOU YOURSELF, AS MUCH AS ANYBODY IN THE UNIVERSE, DESERVE YOUR LOVE AND AFFECTION."

MOTHER TERESA - NUN & MISSIONARY (1910-1997)

"I KNOW GOD WILL NOT GIVE ME ANYTHING I CAN'T HANDLE, I JUST WISH HE DIDN'T TRUST ME SO MUCH."

SHIRLEY JACKSON - AUTHOR (1916-1965)

"I HAVE OFTEN NOTICED THAT ONE CAN OBSERVE WITH DETATCHMENT, SIGHTS THAT WHEN PUT INTO WORDS BECOME DISGUSTING."

MALCOLM X. - CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, CLERGYMAN (1925-1965)

"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SO BLIND WITH PATRIOTISM THAT YOU CAN'T FACE REALITY. WRONG IS WRONG NO MATTER WHO SAYS IT OR DOES IT."

MEL BLANC - VOICE ACTOR, COMEDIAN (1908-1989)

"THAT'S ALL FOLKS!"

MUHAMMAD ALI - BOXER, SOCIAL ACTIVIST (1942-Present)

"I AM THE GREATEST."

JACKIE GLEASON - ACTOR, COMEDIAN (1916-1987)

"THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO WITH MONEY... IS SAVE IT."

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU - 1st PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA - 1889-1964

"LIFE IS LIKE A GAME OF CARDS, THE HAND YOU ARE DEALT IS DETERMINISM. THE WAY YOU PLAY IT, IS FREE WILL."

HARRY TRUMAN - 33RD U.S. PRESIDENT - (1884-1972)

"IT'S A RECESSION WHEN YOUR NEIGHBOR LOSES HIS JOB; IT'S A DEPRESSION WHEN YOU LOSE YOURS."

EDGAR ALLAN POE - AUTHOR (1809-1849)

"I HAVE NO FAITH IN HUMAN PERFECTABILITY. I THINK THAT HUMAN EXERTION WILL HAVE NO APPRECIABLE EFFECT UPON HUMANITY. MAN IS NOW ONLY MORE ACTIVE-NOT MORE HAPPY-NOR WISE, THAN HE WAS 6000 YEARS AGO."

CONFUCIUS - SOCIAL PHILOSOPHER - (551 BC - 479 BC)

"NEVER IMPOSE ONTO OTHERS WHAT YOU WOULD NOT CHOOSE FOR YOURSELF."

RODNEY DANGERFIELD - ACTOR - COMEDIAN - (1921-2004)

MY LUCK IS SO BAD, IF I INVESTED IN A CEMETERY, PEOPLE WOULD STOP DYING....Dangerfield's Tombstone, "THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD."

ZSA ZSA GABOR - ACTRESS - (1917-PRESENT)

"I NEVER HATED A MAN ENOUGH TO GIVE BACK HIS DIAMONDS."

RONALD REAGAN - 40th U.S. PRESIDENT - ACTOR (1911-2004)

"IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT POLITICS IS THE SECOND OLDEST PROFESSION. I HAVE LEARNED THAT IT BEARS A STRIKING RESEMBLENCE TO THE FIRST.'

HASKEL "HY" EDELBLUM - FATHER, ROLE MODEL, ARTIST (1928-1995)

"IF SOMEONE IS TALKING TO THEM SELF AND YOU ANSWER, THEN THEY AREN'T TALKING TO THEM SELF."

OPRAH WINFREY TV Host, Producer, Philantropist (1954 to Present)

"CHEERS TO A NEW YEAR AND ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT." and "YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL. YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE IT ALL AT ONCE."

ERMA BOMBECK - AUTHOR, HUMORIST (1927-1996)

SHOPPING IS A WOMAN THING. IT'S A CONTACT SPORT LIKE FOOTBALL. WOMEN ENJOY THE SCRIMMAGE, THE NOISY CROWDS, THE DANGER OF BEING TRAMPLED TO DEATH AND THE ECSTASY OF THE PURCHASE.

TRUMAN CAPOTE - AUTHOR, HUMORIST (1924-1984)

LIFE IS A MODERATELY GOOD PLAY WITH A BADLY WRITTEN THIRD ACT.

CLARENCE DARROW - LAWYER (1857-1938)

AS LONG AS THE WORLD SHALL LAST THERE WILL ALWAYS BE WRONGS AND IF NO MAN OBJECTED AND NO MAN REBELLED, THESE WRONGS WOULD LAST FOREVER.